For the 2022 Laszlo-Excalibur lecture, the Carlos Museum welcomed Mary Louise Hart, former curator at the Getty Villa specializing in the art and performance of ancient Greek drama, and Tony Award-winning writer-director Mary Zimmerman for a Zoom conversation with Curator of Greek and Roman Art Ruth Allen titled, "It Was Ever Thus: Theater and Adaptation from Classical Antiquity to the Present."
This wide-ranging conversation explored the ways in which adaptation has always played a central role in the theater—whether to make a myth or a play relevant for a particular time, to surprise audiences, or to suit the strengths (or ego) of a particular actor—as well as in the dissemination of theater imagery in ancient material culture. The John Laszlo, M.D. Excalibur Lecture was established through the generosity of Dr. Laszlo’s family and friends in honor of his retirement from the American Cancer Society.
Image: LA Opera production of Eurydice. Photo by Ana Kuzmanic.
